On Wednesday, August 12, when US Senator Saxby Chambliss presented his health care reform views it was rife with misinformation. Saxby spoke to a closed door audience and did a great job of forgetting important pieces of information in the health care reform debate. When he presented his second chart, on the number of employees who would lose insurance if there was a public option, he failed to acknowledge that the data came from a group that is funded by the United Healthcare company.
According to the Washington Post, who ran a story less than 1 month ago,
The Lewin Group is wholly owned by UnitedHealth Group, one of the nation's largest insurers.More specifically, the Lewin Group is part of Ingenix, a UnitedHealth subsidiary that was accused by the New York attorney general and the American Medical Association of helping insurers shift medical expenses to consumers by distributing skewed data.
Saxby used the Lewin Group's data to prove his point that a public option would move tens of millions of employees, who currently have employer health insurance, to the rolls of government-backed health insurance. He went for the "shock and awe" when he alerted the audience that all businesses would face a penalty if they did not provide insurance for their employees.
What Saxby failed to say is that many small businesses will be exempted from any penalties.
Under health reform, employers above a minimum number of employees will be required to provide health insurance or face a penalty. The amount of the penalty will depend on the size of the business.Under the House plan, H.R. 3200, most employers -- those whose annual payroll totals $400,000 or more -- would pay a penalty of 8 percent of their total annual wages. Smaller employers would pay less -- 6 percent for an annual payroll between $350,000 and $400,000, 4 percent for a payroll of $300,000 to $350,000 and 2 percent for a payroll of $250,000 to $300,000. Employers with a yearly payroll below $250,000 would be exempt.
Instead of showing true leadership and providing information on both sides of the public option debate, Saxby chose to go with the doom and gloom tactics. He could have presented information based on the Congressional Budget Office analysis - a truly independent analysis.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities suggests "the total number of people covered under employer-sponsored plans will actually increase under the House reform, according to a Congressional Budget Office analysis. That's because employers who do not provide insurance now will be forced to do so or pay the penalty."
Saxby continued his health care reform scare tactics when he presented his third chart to the audience. This chart illustrated the marginal tax bracket increases that a person would incur under the current health care proposals. Saxby failed to provide some critical information to the audience regarding how outdated his data was and the past leadership failures of the Republican Party that are contributing to increases in the tax brackets.
Saxby's chart illustrated that a small business owner in the 33% tax bracket will move to the 50%+ tax bracket, in 4 years, if the current House bill is passed. Saxby tries to lay out that Democrats are going to be responsible for taxing the rich to pay for the poor's health care insurance. He fails to acknowledge that a large majority of Americans and economists agree that some form of tax is required. Seventy four percent (74%) of Americans believe it is a good idea to tax the rich. Clearly this group of Americans includes more than Democrats.
According to a leading conservative economist, Bruce Bartlett, "Republicans vow to fight the surtax to their last breathe. But their hand is weak for several reasons. First, they virtually guaranteed a rise in the top income tax rate by refusing to expend any political capital on making the 2001 tax rate reduction permanent. At the end of next year, the top rate will automatically rise from 35% to 39.6% as a consequence."
Bartlett also states "Republicans were responsible for a large expansion in the number of Americans who pay no federal income taxes. According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, only 35% of federal tax returns had no tax liability in 2000; by 2008 that percentage had risen to 43%. According to the latest calculation from the Tax Policy Center, 47% of tax filers will owe no federal income taxes this year."
When Saxby talks about how the bad Democrats want to tax the rich then he should also include Republicans' culpability with the increases in tax brackets.
Saxby concluded his misinformation health care tour by ranting on how the health care proposals will do nothing to decrease the rising health care costs. Saxby's statements were based on outdated facts - he references the CBO analysis but he failed to acknowledge that the CBO's analysis was based on the initial June 15 CBO score and not the most recent July 2 CBO score.
Here's the difference between the June 15 and July 2 CBO scores:
CBO's June 15 score of an incomplete version of the HELP bill -- which Elmendorf made clear did not include a public option or an employer mandate -- found that under the legislation, 17 million fewer Americans would be uninsured in 2019 than under current law, at a cost of approximately $1 trillion over 10 years.
Elmendorf, Director of the Congressional Budget Office, says of the July 2 CBO score that the House bill "did not have a substantial effect on the cost or enrollment projections, largely because the public plan would pay providers of health care at rates comparable to privately negotiated rates -- and thus was not projected to have premiums lower than those charged by private insurance plans in the exchanges."
Sen. Kennedy and Dodd states "Congressional Budget Office has carefully reviewed our complete bill, and we are pleased to report that the CBO has scored it at $611.4 billion over 10 years, with the new coverage provisions scored at $597 billion" -- a cost they noted was a "significant reduction from earlier estimates." The preliminary score of the complete bill that the committee released stated that Title I of the bill would increase the deficit by $597 billion over 10 years."
As long as Saxby follows the Republican talking points he will continue his mission of misinforming Georgia voters who voted for him to be their voice in government. I am so not shocked - Saxby reaps a lot from his friends in the health care industry. He will take care of their interests before Georgia voters. Saxby on Health Care Reform. Epic Fail.
You can watch the entire event here at CBS46 Atlanta.
Comments (5)
Thanks for the note & the fine analysis Bernita, I had avoided watching the vids for fear of nausea but it was pretty standard fare.
The NYT has a decent editorial with some of the vital facts & figures here:
"Health Reform and Small Business",
Published: August 12, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/13/opinion/13thu1.html?_r=1&emc=tnt&tntemail0=y
The bottom line for small businesses, probably well in excess of 80-85% of them? If their payrolls are At or Under 500K, they'll be exempt from the provisions of the bill. Only businesses with more than 25 employees & payrolls in excess of 500k would pay any sort of additional 'fees' or taxes. This is why Saxby mentioned 'a million dollars', which is actually a fairly small slice of all such firms, probably less than 5%. Here's the ever reliable CBPP.org on that score:
www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=2874
For Individuals or a couple filing jointly who are millionaires (or close to it) the additional tax would probably amount to an additional (OMG!!) 1.5-2K. That's it, $2000. What some of them might spend in an afternoon @ Nordstrom's or a campaign BBQ for their favorite fervid feckless right wing pol.
Here's Families USA on 'Employer Mandates' & the logic behind them:
"Why Employers Should Share the
Responsibility of Paying for Health Care"
www.familiesusa.org/assets/pdfs/health-reform/employer-responsibility.pdf
Here's their bit on how small businesses would benefit:
familiesusa.org/august-recess-tool-kit/making-the-case/health-reform-for-small-biz.pdf
Here's a Positive story on small businesses being interested in health care reform from NB: [Via the excellent blog.healthcareforamericanow.org]
journalstar.com/article_1e00a606-87a5-11de-89dc-001cc4c002e0.html
More Great fun from Bruce Bartlett (a Reagan-Bush era economist who served in both administrations), in an excellent analysis econ piece from the Dailybeast.com:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-08-12/the-gops-misplaced-rage/full/
Thanks again for your good efforts here & for the vids. If we don't call them to account, no one else will! JMP
Also from the Commonwealth Fund comes this excellent valuable analysis:
http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Content/Publications/Issue-Briefs/2009/Jul/How-Health-Care-Reform-Can-Lower-the-Costs-of-Insurance-Administration.aspx
"How Health Care Reform Can Lower the Costs of Insurance Administration"
July 16, 2009 | Volume 57
Author(s): Sara R. Collins, Ph.D., Rachel Nuzum, M.P.H., Sheila Rustgi, Stephanie Mika, Cathy Schoen, M.S., and Karen Davis, Ph.D.
Contact: Sara R. Collins, Ph.D., Vice President, The Commonwealth Fund, src@cmwf.org
And this, which should be of interest to many audiences here & elsewhere:
http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Content/Publications/Issue-Briefs/2009/Aug/Rite-of-Passage-Why-Young-Adults-Become-Uninsured-and-How-New-Policies-Can-Help-2009-Update.aspx
"Rite of Passage? Why Young Adults Become Uninsured and How New Policies Can Help, 2009" Update
August 6, 2009 | Volume 64
Author(s): Jennifer L. Nicholson, M.P.H., Sara R. Collins, Ph.D., Bisundev Mahato, Elise Gould, Ph.D., Cathy Schoen, M.S., and Sheila D. Rustgi
Contact: Sara Collins, Ph.D., Vice President, The Commonwealth Fund, src@cmwf.org
"Overview/Abstract
Young adults ages 19 to 29 are one of the largest segments of the U.S. population without health insurance: 13.2 million, or 29 percent, lacked coverage in 2007. They often lose coverage at age 19 or upon high school or college graduation: nearly two of five (38%) high school graduates who do not enroll in college and one-third of college graduates are uninsured for a time during the first year after graduation. Twenty-six states have passed laws to expand coverage of dependents to young adults under parents' insurance policies. Congressional proposals to reform the health system could help uninsured young adults gain coverage and prevent others from losing it. This is the seventh edition of Rite of Passage, first published by The Commonwealth Fund in 2003. "
Most Repug's will just toss such populations to the wind, to be somehow lumped in with 'illegals' as seemingly unworthy of our interest, sympathy or action. Pretty standard fare & a valuable stat to know when they start to break out their numbers telling the crowd that the uninsured is 'not that bad/much of a problem'. JMP
health benefits offered by morning walk
The secret of longevity for a major section of people who are ‘ octogenarians ‘ – That is People who are in their eighties would be morning walk which was done for decades. People have nowadays gradually started realizing the importance of morning walk in shaping the health of human body. But still there are umpteen number of people who do not unwind themselves from their mechanical lives. Technological advancements have made life more simpler in all respects but we humans must also pay the price for it if we do not allocate time in our hectic schedule for some physical work like walking or visiting Gym’s. Around fifteen years ago, TV remotes were rarely found in houses and hence we used to walk at least for changing channels. But now ? Sitting hours together in front of the idiot box, continuously feeding the stomach with snacks or sweets, leading to obesity. If you question a doctor on the health benefits offered by walking he would give you a long lecture. Let us see some of the benefits.
1) It is a stress buster which instills a feeling of freshness to the body as well as mind.
2) blood circulation is promoted, reducing greatly the chances of high blood pressure.
3) Checks obesity by burning unnecessary calories of fat in the body.
4) It makes the joints more strong and hence people would be less susceptible to Orthopedic troubles associated with old age.
5) Chases away neck pain and back pains.
6) If you go walk in a park surrounded by trees, you will inhale more fresh air, containing higher concentration of oxygen, thereby bringing down breathing problems too.
7) Keeps sugar levels under control.
http://nupek.com/health/health-benefits-offered-by-morning-walk/
health benefits offered by morning walk
The secret of longevity for a major section of people who are ‘ octogenarians ‘ – That is People who are in their eighties would be morning walk which was done for decades. People have nowadays gradually started realizing the importance of morning walk in shaping the health of human body. But still there are umpteen number of people who do not unwind themselves from their mechanical lives. Technological advancements have made life more simpler in all respects but we humans must also pay the price for it if we do not allocate time in our hectic schedule for some physical work like walking or visiting Gym’s. Around fifteen years ago, TV remotes were rarely found in houses and hence we used to walk at least for changing channels. But now ? Sitting hours together in front of the idiot box, continuously feeding the stomach with snacks or sweets, leading to obesity. If you question a doctor on the health benefits offered by walking he would give you a long lecture. Let us see some of the benefits.
1) It is a stress buster which instills a feeling of freshness to the body as well as mind.
2) blood circulation is promoted, reducing greatly the chances of high blood pressure.
3) Checks obesity by burning unnecessary calories of fat in the body.
4) It makes the joints more strong and hence people would be less susceptible to Orthopedic troubles associated with old age.
5) Chases away neck pain and back pains.
6) If you go walk in a park surrounded by trees, you will inhale more fresh air, containing higher concentration of oxygen, thereby bringing down breathing problems too.
7) Keeps sugar levels under control.
http://nupek.com/health/health-benefits-offered-by-morning-walk/
I attended a health care forum in Savannah on August 31st hosted by the Savannah Chamber of Commerce.The forum featured Saxby Chambliss who showed the various pie-charts including the the one about a public option moving millions of employees to the government-back plan. He stated the numbers came from "a group" that was well respected. I submitted a question in that portion of the event asking who that group was and who funded that group. He stated that it was the Lewin Group but that he didn't know who funded them. In reality, he knew as well as me that it's a front organization for United HealthGroup. I did confront him about this after the conclusion of the forum. I really dislike being lied to !!!